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>> ♪ qui tollis peccata ♪ oprah: where did you learn to sing opera like that? [marie chuckles] >> i had her come in and help me today. this is barbra smith davis. oprah: barbra smith, were you a proud teacher? >> absolutely. >> you know, i did "sound of music," and she was one of the nuns. and when i first sang, [country music style] ♪ the hills are alive ♪, she went, "would you like some pointers?" oprah: that was hard for you just now. >> very hard. very hard. oprah: yeah. do you do that every night? >> yes, but not after i talk about him for the hour. oprah: mm-hmm. >> and, yeah, i'll be doing that. it's a gift of love for him. he loved that i sing opera. oprah: what do you think michael would want most for you now as you move on with your life? what would he want? >> the last conversation that i had with him, he said, "mom, i want you to find a good man." i'm going through menopause--men

are on pause. i don't know that i'm ready for that. but he--he knew that alone is hard, and he wanted me to be happy. he was proud of me, um, stepping away from sadness into light again and walking forward with my life. and i think that's what we teach our children, is to do those things, but really, we don't teach them anything. they teach us to have strength for them. oprah: you've been beautiful today. thank you for being here, marie osmond. good-bye, everybody. bye, everybody. [marie singing "pie jesu"] [captioning made possible by king world] [captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org--] e e e e e e

>> enough is enough, right? we're looking at low 50s in the northeast. mid-40s from minneapolis to chicago. a balmy nice temperature there looking like 87 in phoenix. and also miami looks good at 87. nice. >> i'll take that any day. well, this is a fish story about the one that did not get away. in fact, the eight-foot mako shark caught itself. the crew of this commercial fishing boat was dumping bait in the gulf of mexico hoping to catch a little red snapper. >> the shark apparently smelled food and could not wait. it leaped into the back of the boat.

the crew could not get close to the shark to push it back in the water. when they got to shore they needed a forklift to unload the shark. >> i would have had a heart attack. >> can you imagine? >> as soon as that jumped in the boat. >> regular jaws right there. >> look at those teeth. oh, man. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." so he says... [ inner monologue ] ahhh, my scalp itches. should i scratch it? he's so cute, scratching would just turn him off. maybe i'll...oops. [ scratching ] that's better. [ female announcer ] there's a better way to relieve an itchy scalp. new head and shoulders itchy scalp care shampoo and conditioner, with eucalyptus. its formula immediately soothes and delivers long-lasting protection between washes. leaving hair manageable. new head and shoulders itchy scalp care with eucalyptus. respect the scalp. love the hair.

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this next story is pretty scary because it could happen to anyone. imagine walking through your own backyard and the earth swallows you up. >> incredible. just crazy. it happened to a woman in the tampa area. always weird news out of florida. don't know what it is about the sunshine state. this woman fell into a sinkhole 7 feet deep. how did she get out? john thomas of wfts has the story.

>> reporter: let us take you down right into the sinkhole. this cavern, a broken frame of top soil, sand and clay. that sat on top of limestone until that gave way and swallowed carla chapman. >> 911 emergency. do you need police, fire, or ambulance? >> i'm in the ground! >> you're in the ground? >> somebody help me! >> reporter: that 911 call was one of several desperate calls carla made as she sank deeper into the hole. >> there's globs of sand, just this clay mixture that's falling down in different places and it's just hitting you and it just -- in the face, it doesn't matter. it has no respect for what part of the body it lands on. >> reporter: it was a call to her husband, though, that may have made all the different. >> she was screaming, help, over and over again. initially i didn't understand. and then the words came to me "in the ground" and that's when i understood she was saying help

and then i heard the word sinking and i immediately called 911. >> i have an emergency at my house. my wife fell in a sinkhole. >> reporter: her husband passed on their address and the officer arrived on the scene. >> all right, sweetheart. all right. i've got you. >> he took these two marine hands and grasped my arms together at the wrist. >> reporter: do you give thanks that she's alive? >> absolutely. i know that the officer said a prayer while he was holding her in the hole. he told her he wasn't going to let his angel go. >> reporter: a day after, and you might think it may all seem surreal now. not so much as witnessed by carla's mud-stained clothes sitting in the garage and the fact that this is not the first time this has happened to carla. what are these cracks here? >> yes. these are cracks that formed -- >> reporter: right here. >> -- in 2009 and this had us file a sinkhole claim. a couple months afterward she fell in the sinkhole, was in

there for two hours on one side of the home. >> reporter: that side of the house, right there, another sinkhole, trapped twice. where do you even begin to say thank you? >> i'm alive. i'm thankful. >> this is in her own backyard. >> scary. >> the second time. they say they've been trying to get the insurance company to take care of this issue but as you can see, obviously it's not been rectified. how terrifying. she can't even go outside. >> maybe the insurance company sees this story and maybe some action. good luck. coming up next, a very serious act for george clooney. a command performance in court. also, the number five has a very special ring for kevin federline. keep it here for "the skinny." it's coming up.

♪ skinny so skinny time now for "the skinny." we've got some good skinny on this whole scandal going down, not across the pond, per se, but we're talking about italy with silvio berlusconi.

>> yes a controversial president. >> very controversial. >> he used to have these parties, alleged sex parties but he called them the bunga bunga parties. sounds like something is going on there. apparently, george clooney allegedly attended one of these with his girlfriend, elisabetta, that brunette babe he's always with these days. turns out he may have to testify in court with his ongoing situation with berlusconi because they're saying he had sex with underage women at these parties and perhaps george clooney was a witness to them. he's saying, i have absolutely nothing to do with this. i met the guy once. he's trying to distance himself from this but george has the house on lake como. >> george may have seen some things. or been doing some things. all right, georgie. well, you guys may have heard -- obviously we did a lot of promotion. britney spears was on "gma" yesterday. they did a big concert in san francisco. >> did you see the sparkly -- >> yeah the whole thing out there. thousands of folks lined up because her album "femme fatale" came out yesterday and as part

of the show britney had a big announcement to make. take a listen. >> we hear you have a special announcement, miss spears. what is it? >> we're going to tour with enrique iglesias in june. >> yea, yea! not quite, because just after that announcement, enrique's people released a statement and said, no, not really. we're not going on a tour with britney spears. people said, not so much. he says, enrique has great respect for britney, long-time fan of her work, sorry for the confusion. apparently, he's doing his own show to promote his latest album called "euphoria" so he doesn't have time to go on tour with britney right now. there was obviously severe miscommunication on that end. why she would make a big announcement on national tv and enrique releases a statement saying, no. not quite. it's kind of weird. >> so quickly after her performance. which is raising eyebrows.

>> i thought the show was great. britney was not -- >> she wasn't her usual self. she was a little -- maybe she's easing back into it. speaking of this britney story, we have another level of this. we're talking about k. federline, and, oops, he did it again. looks like he's expecting a baby, fifth child with his third -- the third baby mommy. >> so he is fertile. man. >> will not be making any visits to the fertility clinic for k. fed. apparently, he has no problems in that department. he is going to be having a baby with his girlfriend victoria prince, noticeably pregnant at the moment. you're looking at footage of him from "the fit club". remember that? >> he got big, yeah. >> people called him k. fat, which was just mean. >> k. fertile. is more like it. >> how to make five kids. for k. fertile. >> "dancing with the stars" last night, the one who got kicked out, psycho mike was the first one, bottom three along with

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go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. nasa releases more images of the planet mercury today. the first picture sent from a space probe in orbit shows terrain never seen before. the orca whale that killed a seaworld trainer last year in orlando appears in public today for the first time since the drowning. seaworld is fighting federal complaints about trainer safety. and prince harry is joining wounded war veterans for a charity hike to the north pole. he'll train for a few days before embarking on that trek. >> cold trek. >> very cold. am as cold as it is in here. >> turned down the ac. according to the official "world news now" royal wedding clock the big day is now a month away. >> just a month. >> thank you, lord. >> yes, hang in there. buckingham palace is shifting into high gear, also including

the kitchen which will be whipping up a special breakfast. here's the bbc. >> reporter: the kitchens of buckingham palace, well used to preparing food for big occasions, from private meals for the queen to formal dinners for visiting heads of state. every year these kitchens serve up food for something like 50,000 guests. on the kitchen shelves are pots and pans which the royal chefs have used to cook for kings and queens for generations. most of the food they prepare in palace kitchens is straightforward, based on the best of british produce. but much of it is delicate work. preparing canapes for the type of reception taking place here on the day of the royal wedding. for the queen's chef and his team, the wedding reception is just one of the major events at the palace this year. >> whether it's for the visit of mr. obama, or the duke of

edinburgh's 9100th birthday, or the royal wedding, they're all once in a lifetime events. >> reporter: 600 guests who have been invited to the wedding reception will gather in palace's main state rooms where they will mingle with the newly married couple who will have come by carriage from westminster abbey. wedding cake will be on display in the long picture gallery alongside some of the palace's art treasures. for the palace officials responsible for organizing the day, it will be a culmination of months of planning. >> there's an awful lot of detail to go into, the planning of all events we do at the palace, which will involve the event planning itself, the invitations, working out the menus, working out all of the details of the drinks. >> reporter: one month to go now to the royal wedding and in the kitchens of buckingham palace, everything, it seems, is ready. ni nickolas wichell, bbc news.

>> such prech@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@h@

this morning on "world news now" -- nato takeover. the international military mission over libya moves into a new command. >> the u.s. military is scaling back in this aggressive effort today. it is wednesday, march 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, i'm peggy bunker. >> and i'm rob nelson. as opposition forces continue to gain ground against the gadhafi regime, secretary of state hillary clinton is meeting with other international leaders to look for diplomatic ways to deal with the ongoing unrest. also coming up, a huge discrimination suit against walmart goes before the supreme court. we're going to tell you about that and also take a look at the employers who are getting praised for the treatment of women on their work force.

you can't make this up, folks, the story of the day here. it's a police pursuit involving a suspect on a bicycle and cops trailing the guy in a golf cart and on horseback. >> reaching speeds of 10 and 12 miles an hour. >> it was a scene out of "die hard". >> oh, boy. but before all that, the u.s. gives up the military lead in libya to nato, beginning today. a three-star canadian general is expected to now head that operation. >> this comes as president obama concedes it might take longer than expected to rid libya of gadhafi. john hendren has the very latest. good morning, john. >> reporter: good morning, rob and peggy. president obama is fielding criticism on capitol hill from republicans who worry this libyan intervention could drag out for a long time. but there is one other possibility. president obama says moammar gadhafi's regime is showing signs they want out.

>> well, i think what we're seeing is that the circle around gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening, that their days are probably numbered, and they're going to have to think through what their next steps are. >> reporter: but the president told abc's diane sawyer some things are not negotiable. >> he has to pull his troops out of places like misrata. and hopefully, he'll get the message soon. >> reporter: the president says he's not yet ready to send weapons to the opposition. >> well, you know, i wouldn't speculate on that. i think that it's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into libya, we probably could. >> reporter: in london the president's secretary of state met with libyan opposition and world leaders to plot the end game. >> what we're seeing in libya is a strengthening of the opposition. unfortunately, we are also seeing a continuing pressure on the rebels, on his people. >> reporter: as opposition members sought international support, gadhafi's forces held strong. blocking a rebel assault on his hometown of sirte. driving back the rebel army

irregulars with rocket and tank fire. in ras lanuf, rebels were in full retreat. in his national address on monday, the president said any nation longing to be free would find a friend in the united states. but he told us that would not mean he would intervene for democratic protesters in syria or other middle eastern nations. in turning to japan, the automotive fallout from the earthquake is now spreading in this country. honda is temporarily cutting production at north american auto factories starting today all because of parts shortages. toyota is telling its u.s. dealers to stop ordering certain replacement parts made in japan unless they're needed for specific repairs. the head of the utility that owns the fukushima nuclear plant is now hospitalized. he was brought in today with high blood pressure as well as some dizziness. meanwhile, u.s. robots will soon be moving through dangerous areas of that stricken facility. the robots will provide video and take readings of radiation levels there. the japanese are now offering $5,000 every day to be a front-line geiger counter operator, checking areas for

radiation ahead of clean-up workers. and this is becoming an all-too familiar scene in japan. a mass burial for earthquake and tsunami victims. the overwhelming number of victims has forced the japanese to abandon their traditional cremation ceremonies. this community alone plans about 400 more burials in the coming days. right here in new york, some political heavyweights showed up to mourn geraldine ferrero. ed koch and charlie rangel were among those attending the wake last night. she died saturday after a long struggle with blood cancer. funeral services will be tomorrow. ferraro, a democrat, made history as the very first female to run for vice president on a major party ticket. a wisconsin judge has put that state's controversial labor law on hold.

the law would have stripped public employees of their collective bargaining rights. the judge also criticized state officials for ignoring her earlier orders not to publish the law. republicans pushed it through anyway earlier this month after democratic lawmakers left the state to avoid voting on it. the nation's highest court is now mulling over a major labor case. at issue is whether a massive lawsuit against walmart by female employees can go ahead as a class action. the 10-year-old lawsuit argued in lively exchanges at the court claims walmart favors men over women in pay and promotions. the women also claim walmart fosters a sexist environment. >> before i got promoted when i was asking what i needed to do, i was told to blow the cob webs off my makeup and doll up. >> what's wrong with this case is three plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. >> now, several of the more conservative justices appealed to -- appeared to agree, rather, with walmart, that even subjecting the company to a trial would be unfair.

despite all the progress towards gender equality, women still don't make as much as men. the latest government numbers show women earn 77 cents for every dollar that a man earns in the very same job. but that is not the case everywhere. sharyn alfonsi found some companies that actually do pay men and women equally. >> reporter: carly started working for patagonia in 1997 as a sales associate. did you think you'd still be working here more than ten years later? >> i thought i'd do it for a year. >> reporter: now a mom of two has been promoted over and over again. >> sales associate, assistant store manager, store manager, regional manager and now district manager. >> reporter: not bad. patagonia is celebrated as one one of the best companies for women to work for. their secret? flexibility, pay and promotion. they offer no cost health insurance, even to those who work just 20 hours a week. almost everyone works a flexible schedule. in fact, leaving to attend your kid's soccer came is actually

encouraged. the result, women stay and excel. today 62% of the company's top executives are women. it's not just good for the women, it's good for business. >> there's a huge return on investment for companies that invest in their female employees, and that investment pays off by having talented people who stay. >> reporter: marriott extends its hospitality to all employees, offering perks like flex time and training to everyone, from front desk workers to housekeepers. they promote from within. today 5 of the company's 12 vice presidents are women. at mcdonald's part-time employees can apply for the 401(k) program and purchase insurance, go back to school, the company will reimburse you. 64% of store managers are women, and most of them started flipping burgers. meaning that girl who asked you if you wanted a super size today has a real shot of being the company's ceo tomorrow. sharyn alfonsi, abc news, new york. >> very cool to see. some police officers in suburban milwaukee made a very unusual arrest over the weekend.

it was all captured on camera. you can just see the suspect hanging onto that suv. before he got there the alleged drunk driver had caused an accident. well, he jumped onto the side of the suv when it slowed down to avoid hitting him on the freeway. needless to say, that man was arrested. we are getting our closest look ever at the planet mercury. guess what? looks a lot like the moon. this picture was sent from nasa's messenger probe. the first spacecraft to orbit from the sun. mercury, like the moon, has no atmosphere to speak of, has a lot of craters. they arrived there two weeks ago. nasa will release more photos later today. >> very cool. technology is amazing. some rough weather in your old neck of the woods last night. strong storms pounded the new orleans area bringing powerful winds, heavy rain, hail and a possible tornado. it caused some damage and snapped electric lines there and

caused a cup of power outages. the storms are expected to be through the area by morning. >> as long as it clears up by friday when i fly back for a little vacation. >> that's all you're concerned about. you'll make it. here's a look at your weather in the middle of the country. from canada down to the gulf, severe storms threaten the southeast and heavy rain will drench the pacific northwest. stormy this evening in the northeast. >> taking a look at upper 50s in seattle, portland and salt lake low 50s in the northeast. and upper 40s from minneapolis closer to average in the southern plains, about 63 degrees in dalas. well, may have only been the end of spring training but one guy at the ballpark in tampa was already in midseason form. >> check out that guy right there. the paramedic making that catch in the at tigers-yankees game. he didn't even need a glove, which is pretty impressive. of course the fans around him had nothing but high-fives and praise for that guy. >> that's good. and like any good fan would, he kept the ball. >> i'm impressed. >> of course, you have to. you have to keep the ball. >> the glove is for sissies.

i don't need a glove. who needs a glove? >> more "world news now" after the break. ♪ i'm ready to play today ♪ put me in coach ♪

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go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil. welcome back, everybody. well, 30 years ago today the country was shocked when news broke that president ronald reagan had been shot outside of a washington, d.c. hotel. >> the president was seriously injured that day along with three others. for more now let's go to the abc news vault to march 30, 1981. >> this is abc news "nightline." reporting from washington, ted koppel. >> good evening. the latest news, all things considered, is reasonably good. president reagan after successful surgery is resting comfortably at george washington hospital here in the capital. his press secretary james brady shot through the head during the same assassination attempt this

afternoon. brady has now come out of 4 1/2 hours of surgery and the surgeon says brady's prognosis is certainly better than it was earlier this afternoon. secret service agent tim mccarthy also shot is in good condition. direct of columbia police officer thomas delahanty is in serious but stable condition. now the famous piece of videotape. watch it and listen to it. >> mr. president. president reagan! [ gunshots ] >> back up, back up! >> get him out! get him out! get him out! now! >> all right. stay back. get back. get the ambulance!

>> all right, stay back! get the ambulance! >> i got one hand. >> get down! >> my husband! my husband! >> get in the car. >> everybody out of the way. >> with us now here in our washington studios is chuck vance, a veteran of 14 years with the secret service who was assigned to the detail that guarded president ford and who is now a partner in a private company specializing in a personal security issue. chuck, i know you wanted me to make the point that you are not here as a spokesman for the secret service but it is, obviously clear that spokesmen for the secret service don't appear on television. and you are a man who has spent many years with the service. we would like to take a look with you of that same piece of videotape that we saw just a moment ago. this time we're going to look at it in slow motion. i would appreciate, chuck, if you would give us the benefit of

explaining to us what went right and what went wrong. in fact, some things were properly done. but there must have been some things that went terrible wrong. let's take a look at the videotape and would you comment. >> i think you're looking at it from just about the viewpoint of the assailant. you're watching from his direction. the president came out. he's waving to the crowd, as he usually did. the agents around him, staff around him. all of a sudden gunshot, two agents on either side of him pushed him. pushed him immediately into the armored limousine. and the agent in front was shot and went down. the agents on the side and the police officers then went to the assailant, pushed him down, took control of him, took custody of him, in fact, protected him while he was there on the ground. >> chuck, was there anything that -- was there any mistake that you could see? or was this the kind of thing

against which no amount of safeguarding can actually protect the president? >> well, ted, not only were there no mistakes i think it's miraculous they reacted as quickly as they did. if anybody's been in a situation where you've heard a long bang, number of bangs your first response is to recoil rather than to move as they did. i think it shows their expertise and training. the problem is it's one of those situations secret service agents have nightmares about. it's -- it's a situation that our society has been -- because it's a democratic society and because politicians and people of that nature have to move through it, as they do and want to do it, that we're prone to. >> what a scary day. >> incredible. we were just talking about the other people that were shot and injured there. james brady, of course, dedicated his life following the assassination attempt to antigun control and trying to, you know, get that changed. also was permanently disabled. >> and interesting thing, too, in reagan's museum they actually have the blue pinstriped suit he

was wearing the day he got shot. you can still see the bullet hole in it. they had the x-ray showing that bullet was only half an inch from his heart. all that in his library. scary. >> and the lighter note, the president saying, are we all republicans here, before the sump surgery at the hospital. you know, kind of -- reagan always highlighting the funnier side of things kept his sense of humor. coming up next, officers in st. petersburg, florida, got creative in a very slow motion police pursuit. >> instead of high horsepower squad cars this involves golf carts, horses and a suspect on a bike. carts, horses and a suspect on a bike. ccccccccccccccccccccccccccc

folks at st. pete grand prix in florida got quite the sight this weekend. they showed up to see fast cars race but ended up getting the world's worst high-speed chase ever. >> if you can call it a high-speed chase.

it involved the police, a golf cart, horses and a bicycle. here's our affiliate wfts with more. >> reporter: the indy cars racing through the streets of st. pete at close to 100 miles an hour got all the headlines. but in the hours before the official race began, st. pete police were also racing through the crowded streets. at an incredible speed. what speeds did they reach? >> well, probably no more than 15, 20 miles an hour. >> reporter: the low-speed chase began when police say they saw william kuncz vandalizing a police golf cart with a magic marker. >> he's straddling on the bike when he does this so the officer yells out and he gets on the bike and starts to run -- or starts to drive the bike away. >> reporter: because of the crowds police couldn't chase the suspect with a squad car so they used what was available. two officers on horseback and another driving a golf cart. >> he was cut off at the corner of second avenue and second street. >> reporter: two horseback guys

are chasing the guy on the schwinn? >> right, exactly. >> reporter: and then the golf cart? >> yes. >> reporter: two horses and a golf cart chasing a schwinn. the schwinn lost. will kuncz went to jail. he wasn't home but his mom was. does that seem like something william would do? >> no, no. >> reporter: just not him? >> no, he's never been in trouble. >> reporter: until he brought a bicycle to a horse race. we wanted to talk to will about his low-speed chase with police after he bonded out of jail. we spoke to him on the phone and he said, he wouldn't talk about this on camera. he just wants to put this behind him. >> hard to put it behind you on a ten-speed. the only thing missing are the streamers off the handlebars. >> the horn, basket, maybe. >> beep beep. >> they got those hardened marker vandals off the streets. >> put him behind bars, that's right. >> i'm sure if we were down there we could have caught the guy. you know what i mean? >> wouldn't you ditch the bike and start running? >> yeah, have you to be faster on foot. >> coming up --

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>> announcer: "world news now" delivers your "morning papers." welcome back, everybody. you've all heard now, i think it's made national news, about the poisonous snake -- >> on the loose. >> -- on the loose from the bronx zoo. we keep checking. since saturday. well, you have to love the folks out there with a good sense of humor and twitter because someone has set up a twitter account bronxzooscobra with up to the minute updates on what the snake is doing. someone set up this account. the guy has a good sense of humor or woman, whoever is doing this. he says, quote, i'm not poisonous as has been reported. i'm venomous, super venomous, but i'm not poisonous. so don't worry. he says, holding very still at the snake exhibit at the museum of natural history. this will be hilarious. he got a little political.

he says, donald trump is thinking about running for president. don't worry, i'll handle this. where is trump tower? >> let's put an end to that one. >> which i thought was pretty good. more than 20,000 people are following -- >> following the cobra. >> -- the loose snake on twitter. >> i can't get a single tweet and the cobra has it going on. >> maybe the cobra is over in germany because this is so disgusting. you'll never go into a port-a-potty or -- a bathroom the same we again. >> worst fear possible. >> we're actually looking at it. there is it. i'm sorry. a 7-year-old girl walked into the family loo in hanover, germany, opened up the lid and that's what was in there. >> a seven foot long python. can you imagine? >> police think this was a pet that actually somebody released which happens sometimes. people buy the snake and they're little, but they grow over time. >> they do. >> and then escape and go into septic system, sewer system. >> you hear of other critters, alligators in new orleans, and rats sometimes -- >> in the toilet? >> in the pipes. when they're small. all of a sudden they're like peek-a-boo and there you are.

>> that can lead to serious accidents. >> oh, man. >> maryland pastor -- a cool story from the pocono record. apparently they pass around the collection plate in church sometimes. they're going through the pile. i think on march 13th. someone had put in there one of those scratch-off lottery tickets. a winning ticket, $30,000. >> 30 grand. >> the church was having financial troubles and they say it will go a long way toward operati operational expenses. anonymous ticket in the offering plate. >> i love that, anonymous. very, very quick. some very enterprising criminals here at the new jersey jailhouse. they decided they could melt down drugs, turn them into a paint and put them on coloring books which were mailed to other inmates. it's a prescription drug. you then lick it off the coloring book and get high. >> looks like they're bringing -- oh, here's a coloring page for daddy. there's actually drugs on the page.

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this morning on "world news now" -- walmart's women. the complaints of more than a million female workers are now presented to the u.s. supreme court. >> it's the biggest discrimination lawsuit ever and it also could have a widespread impact on the entire american workforce. it's wednesday, march 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." and good morning, everybody. i'm rob nelson. >> and i'm peggy bunker. it was quite a dynamic debate in the supreme court with three female justices asking tough questions about this very emotional case. >> bringing up a lot of issues about men and women in the american workforce. very interesting debate. >> don't get me started. come on. also ahead, it is no man's land in northeast japan. we'll take you inside the

e vk weighs zone near the damaged nuclear plant. some people are refusing to leave. >> mind-boggling. coming up a bit later, the technology many car buyers now demand. we'll help you keep track of high-tech computers hitting new car show rooms. some of these cars you need a manual constantly. to figure out how to drive it. >> it's not the muffler, carburetor. it's the microchip. or whatever. >> yes, very smart these cars. the nation's highest court looks ready to block a massive sex discrimination suit against walmart. >> during yesterday's hearing before the u.s. supreme court, several justices suggested that the suit was unfair, both to walmart and to the women who are now suing. t.j. winick joining us with details on the landmark case. hi, t.j. >> reporter: good morning, rob and peggy. the case before the supreme court focuses on how an iconic american retailer allegedly treats its female employees. the plaintiffs accuse walmart of passing them over for promotions, paying them less than men, and fostering an environment where sexism is pervasive. >> before i got promoted, when i was asking what i needed to do,

i was told to blow the cobwebs off my makeup and to doll up. >> reporter: the supreme court must now decide not whether thousands of walmart employees were discriminated against, but whether they should be allowed to bring the biggest class-action lawsuit ever against america's largest private employer. >> what's wrong with this case is three plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. >> reporter: the three women on the court appeared to be the most sympathetic to the plaintiffs' case. ruth bader ginsburg asked, isn't there some responsibility on the company to say, is gender discrimination at work? if there is, isn't there an obligation to stop it? but justice scalia couldn't reconcile the idea that managers handled hiring properly with the idea gnat the company has a whole discriminated. which is it? it's either individual supervisors who are left on their own or there's a strong corporate culture which tells you what to do. if the lawsuit is allowed to proceed, it could involve as many as 1.5 million female employees seeking back pay that

could amount to billions of dollars. >> if they rule against us, the fight has just begun. it's just begun. >> reporter: the suit was originally filed in 2001 and lower courts have ruled the case should proceed. a decision from the supreme court is expected in early summer. rob and peggy? and another major labor case is on hold in wisconsin. this is a law that would have stripped state employees of their collective bargaining rights and now being reviewed by a judge. republican lawmakers pushed through passages of the law earlier this month, despite massive protests that drew up to 85,000 people to the state capital. despite the legal challenge, other states are following wisconsin's lead. lawmakers in ohio could vote today on a bill that could limit union rights for 350,000 public workers in that state. firefighters were among the public employees protesting the measure as they rallied at the capital yesterday. and now to japan's nuclear crisis. also word this morning of yet another setback.

this time the president of the utility company that owns the stricken fukushima nuclear plant has been hospitalized. word is he is suffering from high blood pressure and dizziness. meanwhile, the u.s. is now sending robots to the facility. they will provide video, readings and other data from areas of the facility that are inaccessible to humans. those robots are heading into the nuclear danger zone but there are some citizens living there who simply never left. our neal karlinsky tells us their story. >> reporter: it is a roadblock few have dared to cross. the sign says, "danger" and, it is the edge of the restricted zone, 20 kilometers, about 12 miles, from the nuclear plant. a japanese team has ventured in to check on whether anyone has refused to evacuate. they find a rice farmer, who seems to have ignored pleas to leave and all commonsense about the radiation filling this place. there aren't many goods

available, he says. there aren't many shops that are open. there are a lot of farmers in the area, though, so we have vegetables. this, he says, is his neighbor's farm. the cows have been left on their own. in the streets, dogs left behind by their panicked owners, now roam aimlessly. how long will it last, this man says. more people will die. more bad things will happen. this is going to get tougher. not far from here the assault to save the fukushima reactors is in full gear. the power company has put up a "help wanted" sign for what could be the most dangerous job on earth. $5,000 a day to be a front-line geiger counter operator. checking areas for radiation ahead of clean-up workers. whatever happens with reactors, the tolls are already mounting. what they're calling the first fukushima fallout victim, a farmer who lived inside the

radiation zone and he said he couldn't take it anymore. he took his own life. neal karlinsky, abc news, tokyo. and a lot of questions are now being asked this morning in alabama following a string of patient deaths at hospitals there. at least nine people have died, all who were treated with contaminated iv bags. the supplier of the bags has stopped production and is now cooperating with investigators. we should say the nine patients were critically ill before receiving those ivs. well, what's love got to do with it? everything, apparently. a new medical study finds those aches and pains you might feel when you're falling in love or even out of it aren't just psychosomatic, they are real. abc's stephanie sy has the story. >> reporter: a team of researchers headed by the university of michigan studied 40 people who had experienced an unwanted romantic breakup within the past six weeks. the subjects were shown a photo of their ex-partner and asked how they felt during the breakup. they were then stimulated by a device that produces a response

similar to holding a hot cup of coffee. all the time the subject's brains were observed on a special mri machine that illuminates areas where the brain is active. researchers found the same brain sensors were illuminated in both cases. the implication is that besides being stressful, social rejection and physical pain have a common psychological basis. yes, sometimes in the medical sense love does really hurt. >> oh, doesn't it, though? great story from stephanie sy. >> ever had a painful breakup like that? >> are you kidding me? if you haven't had a painful break up, you haven't lived. really. and the first one is always the hardest. >> i only had one but that's because she punched me. we'll talk about that later. >> i'm sure it was well deserved. >> kind of, yeah. taking a look at your weather, evening showers in washington, d.c. also severe storms in northern florida. heavy rain and flooding in the pacific northwest. to fair in the middle of the country. >> right in the middle of my nose. it hurt. >> i'm going to get punched. >> closer to average temperature

in the midwest and northeast. mostly upper 40s and 50s there. cooler than usual in the southern plains and warmer in the southwest. >> hopefully, no heartbreak or breakups here, because we've been hearing about prince william, whose wedding is next month. his brother harry -- harry is the wilder one. >> yes. >> the prince is taking part in a charity hike to the north pole to raise money for british veterans' charities. >> a brave man. prince harry went to norway for training after the bachelor party he threw for his brother. he won't be able to stay for the entire trip. he admits he hasn't had much time to get ready for the big trek. i saw the interview. i think he said it was like negative 40. you know -- >> looks brutal. they're looking to raise $3.2 million for veteran causes. >> well done, harry. more "world news now" coming up. ♪ you're as cold as ice ♪ cold as ice i know as ice i know ♪

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gorgeous shot there. well, this week president obama

addressed the nation saying the u.s. had to act in libya. on tuesday he continued to push that message when he sat down with abc's diane sawyer. >> the two talked about where things now stand in that civil war-torn country as well as the future of its dictator, moammar gadhafi. >> reporter: as of this moment, any sign gadhafi wants out? >> well, i think what we're seeing is that the circle around gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening, that their days are probably numbered, and they're going to have to think through what their next steps are. >> we are hearing tonight, it's fierce fighting. the u.s. must send munitions. how long would it take to get there? >> well, you know, i wouldn't speculate on that. i think that it's fair to say that if we wanted to get weapons into libya we probably could. we're looking at all our options at this point. but keep in mind what we've accomplished. we have instituted a no-fly zone that can be sustained for quite

some time because it's an international effort. >> reporter: i want to try to clarify what you're saying today to the people of syria. we specifically asked the president, is he saying to the protesters in syria that if they meet the five criteria he laid out last night -- are ryou saying to them, we wil be there for you as we were there in libya? >> i'm not saying that. what i am saying is that those are the criteria i consider in making a very difficult decision about whether to apply military force. i don't know if those circumstances could be duplicated anyplace else. those are the kinds of criteria that i examine. but i'm not going to start, right as we're in a very complex operation in libya, start projecting out about all the other countries in which this would apply. >> reporter: even if these paper criteria are met? >> well, as i said, diane, i

think in each situation, i've got to examine how does this measure up in terms of our interests, the international community's interests, what exactly would military intervention accomplish? understanding there are significant costs and our military is overstretched. >> that's a central question for a lot of americans, should we be the police for the rest of the world? under what circumstances do we go in? already we're stretched economically and militarily. >> there's such a huge cost. but 26 million people watched that speech. obviously, people concerned this sort of attitude could stretch to other countries, as diane was asking about. >> that's worrisome for a lot of people. no easy answers. ever, it seems like. coming up next, remember when power windows and locks were the high-tech luxury items to have in your car? >> now computers are in big demand in new cars. the changes you'll see behind the wheel. coming up next.

and now for a look at the cars of the future that are already on the road today. some come with the state-of-the-art technology that helps us get around. >> we love our bells and whistles. others may help us save from the recent pain at the pump. daniel sieberg took some of these cool cars out for a test drive all as a way to, of course, tech them out. >> reporter: car technology is no longer gps maps and satellite radio. these days, your car is like an office or a living room on wheels. that's not to mention the innovations under the hood as well as in the dash. >> these days the dashboard in a car looks a little bit like the dash in a cockpit. i mean, there are -- >> it sure does. where we're going with that is to help all of us not only drive

safely and efficiently but also to allow us to be even better drivers. >> reporter: before taking the wheel of ford, alan mulally was ceo at boeing, so the plane-car comparison is appropriate. ford has pushed its synch and touch wave. it means using some apps on your smartphone while on the car. how seamless do you want it to be? you're outside the car, you're connected. you get in the car, you're connected. >> i think you want to enhance the driver's ability to use what we're really good at. if you're organizing information and you do it if a way that is natural for us. that's why we adopted consumer electronics approach for the command and control. >> reporter: but the debate continues. >> please say a command. >> reporter: whether these technologies serve as beneficial or detrimental. >> we are all in a connected world. there are connected devices. people have their mobile phones,

music players. they will bring them into the vehicle. so, at ford we consider ourselves as part of a solution. part of the solution for us means enabling usage of those devices in a safe way. >> reporter: meanwhile, companies like qnx are working with carmakers like bmw to tailor the look and feel. of the inside of a vehicle. we got a virtual test drive at a recent trade show. >> bmw has used a protocol called message axis profile. we enable. essentially it then allows for your entire, e-mail, calendar, text messages, calendar, reminders, tasks, to be viewed -- >> reporter: as read out. >> -- read out to you. this is the stra additional end-unit display in the car. what we're trying to showcase is that there's a ton of different things you can now do with these. you take the applications that's running on the device and you

make it a car-friendly look and feel on the actual display surface. >> reporter: easy to use without a lot of distraction? >> exactly. >> reporter: then there are the electric vehicles coming onto the road. well, some are mostly electric. the chevy volt is neither a hybrid or a truly solely electric vehicle, because there's also a gas engine. chevy is calling it an extended range electric vehicle. that's exactly what it does. basically the electric motor will work for about 50 miles or so. after that point, the gas engine is designed to kick in and give you a lot more miles. like every other electric vehicle, it's quiet, a fairly smooth ride. it's actually a pretty fun ride. now, the readouts on the displays here, there's some techie stuff going on. you can see how much of the

battery is left, whether you're in an efficient driver, pushing too much on the accelerator. using too much of the battery. every type of clean energy vehicle you can imagine is coming out these days. it's a real trend for cars. going forward we'll have to see what lies down the road. it really can't be stressed enough that all that cool technology in cars has to be balanced with safety. even hands-free and voice activation stuff can be a mental distraction, if not a physical one. so remember to keep your mind on the road and master all the controls before you head out. rob and peggy, back to you. >> very interesting. you know, everybody talks about the cost of these cars. the volt is about $40,000 but you get the $7,000 tax credit. and the leaf, the nissan leaf, they say, is $32,000. still, you're getting up into the bmw, audi range. when you're paying 40 grand for an electric car. >> the coolest thing i had a chance to drive a leaf and a volt. there is an iphone app you can set the temperature. from the iphone. so on the cold winter nights, you can set the temperature from

your bedroom. you get in there, it's warm and toasty. >> i like that. the temperature from your bedroom. you get in there, it's warm and toasty. >> i like that.

♪ looking at who's watching what out there. as you know, i'm the mother of twins. you know this because i never shut up about it. poor guy. sometimes you see the twins together and they really seem like they have their own language all to themselves, very cool. >> a very cool phenomenon. that, of course, brings us to our next story right now. it's about another set of twin babies caught on tape practically proving the theory that twins do have their own language. here's linsey davis. >> reporter: watch these 17-month-old twin brothers explorers in human communication.

that's sam holding the fridge and wren with mismatched socks. they're fraternal twins who just seem to be making small talk at first. then, the head shake. one threatens to turn and walk away but stays to try to talk things out. expert say it's more than just babble. >> it's a quite remarkably rich interchange. they're communicating with each other about each other. >> reporter: in early childhood, 40% of multiples have a secret way of communicating. listen to the dilley sextuplets who broke into a tune all their own. a spontaneous jazz riff. [ humming ] we once watched these quadruplets who seemed to be speaking in code. there's even a name for it. idioglossia, babies trying to communicate by mimicking each other, clearly coherent. only to themselves.

so they're not necessarily talking about something, but they're communicating nonetheless. >> exactly. they're communicating about, perhaps, the fun of having a conversation. they're, perhaps, imitating what they see conversations look like. >> reporter: within the walls of abc news, no subtitles were necessary. >> right now they're talking final four basketball. >> i'm taller. no, i'm taller. i told you. >> see, it's about the sock. >> it's definitely about the sock. >> reporter: some twins never outgrow it. like marcus and markeefe morris, who now play for kansas. they've always had what they describe as a weird communication that may even give them an edge on the court. perhaps it started out something like this, with a good old eye poke and hearty laugh. followed, of course, by a synchronized couch climb. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> i love that their conversation is so real. but the other thing very real are the diapers and socks. you can't even get outfits on twins. like, forget it. that's good enough.

this morning on "world news now" -- women versus walmart. the huge class-action suit over pay, benefits, and promotions as the nation's largest retailer goes to the supreme court. >> more than a million walmart workers are involved in this huge fight. it is thursday, march 30th. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, i'm peggy bunker. >> i'm rob nelson. the case could have a far-reaching impact on american women in the workplace. you'll see how this case led to a very spirited debate among men and women justices on the nation's high court. >> oh, for sure. all eyes watching that situation, that's for sure. also coming up, a florida woman who stepped out into her yard and into a sinkhole that nearly swallowed her.

you'll hear her 911 call, also, from the deep, she had her phone with her. and this is not the first time it's happened. >> you can't even go out in your yard anymore. nothing's safe, man. later in this half hour, planning a wedding meal for an ordinary wedding is quite a challenge. now we'll take you inside the kitchen preparing for a wedding breakfast fit for royalty. you can guess who we're talking about again. >> you only have a little longer to get through. it's coming up. >> less than a month now. >> less than a month. you got to hang in there. >> just get to this wedding, please. but first, we want to talk about the situation with the case against walmart. the supreme court is now considering whether a huge discrimination suit brought on by female employees can go forward. >> billions of dollars are at stake if the high court rules in favor of those employees, but as terry moran reports, that does not appear likely. >> reporter: on the plaza of the supreme court, a few protesters gathered, while inside the highest court in the land, some of the women of walmart, the plaintiffs here, watched from the gallery.

on the bench for the first time in a gender discrimination case, three women justices sat to hear their plea. and all three tore into the case. justice ruth bader ginsburg, who, more than any other lawyer in america, advanced the cause of women's rights even before she became a judge. she grilled walmart's lawyers about revealing internal statistics. the company gets reports month after month, she said, showing that women are disproportionately passed over for promotion and there is a pay gap. isn't there some responsibility on the company? walmart's lawyer said the statistics were misleading. it does not show there were gender gaps at the stores among comparable people. but several of the male justices were sharply skeptical. justice kennedy -- it's not clear to me. what is the unlawful policy that walmart has adopted? and justice scalia told that walmart's own management training materials included the statement that men are more aggressive in seeking

advancement, blurted out, if you have an aggressive woman, promote her. outside a walmart executive echoed the company's argument, that the experiences of just a handful of women, even if true, are just not typical of what happened to more than a million other women who worked at walmart, and so cannot be the basis for this gigantic class-action against the company. >> what's wrong with this case is three plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. i've had a very positive experience at walmart, like thousands of other women. >> reporter: betty dukes, one of the women trying to bring this case on behalf of so many others, was undaunted. >> if they rule against us, the fight has just begun. it's just begun. >> reporter: this court has generally been a pro-business court and so it will be a real uphill fight for the women who brought this case to win it, even with three women justices. terry moran, abc news, new york. just days after an air

traffic controller in washington admitted to sleeping on the job, there is yet another controversy in the skies. in central florida an air traffic supervisor has now been suspended after a southwest airlines jet and a small plane flew too close to each other. faa investigators say the suspended supervisor had asked that southwest crew for help in looking for a private plane that had been out of radio contact for about an hour. the faa says the planes were dangerously close but will not say just how close they really were. also, the fbi is trying to figure out how a bullet hole got in the fuselage of a us airways plane. a pilot noticed the hole monday during a preflight inspection at the charlotte, north carolina, airport. the boeing 737 had just arrived on a flight from philly. that hole never penetrated, though, the cabin of the plane. weird. >> can you imagine? >> airline news. the last couple of weeks. >> that's what's going on. hopefully, the pilots are looking out for that sort of thing. turning to libya where a major debate is unfolding this morning in washington over

whether to provide rebels with weapons. >> this all comes as a top nato commander reveals it's possible al qaeda members are now among those anti-gadhafi forces. john hendren is joining us from washington with the latest. hi, john. >> reporter: good morning, rob and peggy. with moammar gadhafi's regime apparently on the ropes, world leaders are plotting an end game. president obama says moammar gadhafi's regime is showing signs they want out. >> well, i think what we're seeing is that the circle around gadhafi understands that the noose is tightening, that their days are probably numbered, and they're going to have to think through what their next steps are. >> reporter: secretary of state hillary clinton met in london with libyan opposition leaders and the heads of 30 nations. >> what we are seeing in libya is a strengthening of the opposition. unfortunately, we are also seeing a continuing pressure on the rebels, on his people. >> reporter: as gadhafi's regime apparently teeters, british

prime minister david cameron is already looking to a post-gadhafi libya, saying the international coalition needs to help the libyan people plan for their future. gathered in london with clinton and cameron were the leaders of that opposition. while on capitol hill the top american commander in europe said there had been intelligence reports that some members of that opposition are members also of al qaeda and hezbollah. as opposition members sought international support, gadhafi's forces held strong, blocking a rebel assault on his hometown of sirte and driving back rebel army with rocket tank fire. in ras lanuf rebels were in full retreat. for the past few nights, u.s. military officials say surface to air missiles have targeted coalition aircraft making the skies above libya still very dangerous. rob and peggy? in japan the president of the utility that runs the fukushima nuclear plant is now in a hospital suffering from high blood pressure and dizziness. meanwhile japan's government is making a grave admission. it says safety measures meant to

protect nuclear plants from earthquakes were not sufficient. also, the u.s. is sending robots to japan. they'll enter areas where radiation levels are too high for humans. in northern california, communities are tallying up the cost of damage from a series of recent rain storms. one of the most hard-hit places, the city of hercules. in the san francisco bay area. an unstable hillside has doomed several homes and others are now in jeopardy. families are being told to get out and get out fast. kgo's wayne freedman reports. >> reporter: this is the hill that soaked up the water that streams into gutters. if that was the end of it, a hercules neighborhood and barbara and billy would not be in a state of crisis. >> this has cast a lot of doubt over the direction of my future. >> this is our home. this is our family. i don't want to leave this place. this is my home and this is my children's home. >> reporter: and now it has a yellow tag on it, one that goes along with four red tags on houses next door and up the

street. it's all due to a rotating slide 150 feet deep and 300 feet across. a monster in the mountain that city engineers believe will consume these homes. somehow before they were built, it eluded the hercules planning department. if they knew about the rotation, how did they get away with building it in the first place? >> you're asking the wrong -- they didn't know about the rotation when they -- when they built this, because they haven't gone the depth. they didn't know there was a slide here. >> reporter: meantime the city wants these homes bulldozed but even that means complications. >> it appears the homes are actually serving as the retaining wall. >> reporter: its not a pretty picture. a neighborhood on the move but in all the wrong directions. and another family in a yellow-tagged house on the brink of loss. >> to tell the truth, i slept in my house. i'm not going to leave my house. i'm going to stay and fight this. >> reporter: to see the hill from here the damage looks fairly superficial but remember

it goes down 150 feet. we took a walk on that hill. it is wet. in places you will sink in to your knees. from hercules, california, wayne freedman for abc news. now, here's a look at your weather around the country on this wednesday. downpours in seattle and portland. heavy snow in the cascades. another storm is moving into the northeast. great. threatening pennsylvania and the east coast later on. rainy in the southeast and into central florida. >> enough is enough, right? we're looking at low 50s in the northeast. mid-40s from minneapolis to chicago. a balmy nice temperature there looking like 87 in phoenix. and also miami looks good at 87. nice. nice. >> i'll take that any day. well, this is a fish story about the one that did not get away. in fact, the eight-foot mako shark caught itself. the crew of this commercial fishing boat was dumping bait in the gulf of mexico hoping to catch a little red snapper. >> the shark apparently smelled food and could not wait. it leaped into the back of the boat. the crew could not get close to

the thrashing 370-pound shark to push it back in the water. when they got to shore they needed a forklift to unload the shark. >> i would have had a heart attack. >> can you imagine? >> as soon as that jumped in the boat. >> regular jaws right there. >> look at those teeth. oh, man. >> we'll be right back with more "world news now." so he says... [ inner monologue ] ahhh, my scalp itches. should i scratch it? he's so cute, scratching would just turn him off. maybe i'll...oops. [ scratching ] that's better. [ female announcer ] there's a better way to relieve an itchy scalp. new head and shoulders itchy scalp care shampoo and conditioner, with eucalyptus. its formula immediately soothes and delivers long-lasting protection between washes. leaving hair manageable. new head and shoulders itchy scalp care with eucalyptus. respect the scalp. love the hair.

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this next story is pretty scary because it could happen to anyone. imagine walking through your own backyard and the earth swallows you up. >> incredible. just crazy. it happened to a woman in the tampa area. always weird news out of florida. don't know what it is about the sunshine state. this woman fell into a sinkhole 7 feet deep. how did she get out? john thomas of wfts has the story. >> reporter: let us take you down right into the sinkhole.

this cavern, a broken frame of top soil, sand and clay. that sat on top of limestone until that gave way and swallowed carla chapman. >> 911 emergency. do you need police, fire, or ambulance? >> i'm in the ground! >> you're in the ground? >> somebody help me! >> reporter: that 911 call was one of several desperate calls carla made as she sank deeper into the hole. >> there's globs of sand, just this clay mixture that's falling down in different places and it's just hitting you and it just -- in the face, it doesn't matter. it has no respect for what part of the body it lands on. >> reporter: it was a call to her husband, though, that may have made all the difference. >> she was screaming, help, over and over again. initially i didn't understand. and then the words came to me "in the ground" and that's when i understood she was saying help and then i heard the word sinking and i immediately called 911. >> i have an emergency at my

house. my wife fell in a sinkhole. >> reporter: her husband passed on their address and the officer arrived on the scene. >> all right, sweetheart. all right. i've got you. >> he took these two marine hands and grasped my arms together at the wrist. >> reporter: do you give thanks that she's alive? >> absolutely. i know that the officer said a prayer while he was holding her in the hole. he told her he wasn't going to let his angel go. >> reporter: a day after, and you might think it may all seem surreal now. not so much as witnessed by carla's mud-stained clothes sitting in the garage and the fact that this is not the first time this has happened to carla. what are these cracks here? >> yes. these are cracks that formed -- >> reporter: right here. >> -- in 2009 and this caused us

to file a sinkhole claim. a couple months afterward she fell in the sinkhole, was in there for two hours on one side of the home. >> reporter: that side of the house, right there, another sinkhole, trapped twice. where do you even begin to say thank you? >> i'm alive. i'm thankful. >> this is in her own backyard. >> scary. >> the second time. they say they've been trying to get the insurance company to take care of this issue but as you can see, obviously it's not been rectified. how terrifying. she can't even go outside. >> maybe the insurance company sees this story and maybe some action. good luck. >> oh, my goodness. >> wow. coming up next, a very serious act for george clooney. a command performance in court. also, the number five has a very special ring for kevin federline. keep it here for "the skinny." it's coming up.

♪ skinny so skinny time now for "the skinny." we've got some good skinny on this whole scandal going down, not across the pond, per se, but we're talking about italy with silvio berlusconi. >> yes a controversial president. >> very controversial.

for very obvious reasons. he used to have these parties, alleged sex parties but he called them the bunga bunga parties. sounds like something is going on there. apparently, george clooney allegedly attended one of these with his girlfriend, elisabetta, that brunette babe he's always with these days. turns out he may have to testify in court with his ongoing situation with berlusconi because they're saying he had sex with underage women at these parties and perhaps george clooney was a witness to them. he's saying, i have absolutely nothing to do with this. i met the guy once. nothing happened at these parties. he's trying to distance himself from this but george has the house on lake como. they're saying that he might be involved. >> george may have seen some things. or been doing some things. all right, georgie. well, you guys may have heard -- obviously we did a lot of promotion. britney spears was on "gma" yesterday. they did a big concert in san francisco. >> did you see the sparkly -- >> yeah, she had the whole thing out there.

thousands of folks lined up because her album "femme fatale" came out yesterday and as part of the show britney had a big announcement to make. take a listen. >> we hear you have a special announcement, miss spears. what is it? >> we're going to tour with enrique iglesias in june. >> yea, yea! not quite, because just after that announcement, enrique's people released a statement and said, no, not really. we're not going on a tour with britney spears. he was very nice. he says, enrique has great respect for britney, long-time fan of her work, sorry for the confusion. apparently, he's doing his own show to promote his latest album called "euphoria" so he doesn't have time to go on tour with britney right now. there was obviously severe miscommunication on that end. why she would make a big announcement on national tv and then enrique has to release a statement saying, no, not quite. it's kind of weird. >> so quickly after her performance. which is raising eyebrows. >> i thought the show was great.

britney was not -- >> she wasn't her usual self. she was a little -- maybe she's easing back into it. speaking of this britney story, we have another level of this. we're talking about k. federline, and, oops, he did it again. looks like he's expecting a baby, fifth child with his third -- the third baby mommy. >> so he is fertile. man. >> will not be making any visits to the fertility clinic for k. fed. apparently, he has no problems in that department. he is going to be having a baby with his girlfriend victoria prince, noticeably pregnant at the moment. you're looking at footage of him from "the fit club". remember that? >> he got big, yeah. >> people called him k. fat, which was just mean. >> k. fertile. is more like it. >> how to make five kids. for k. fertile. >> "dancing with the stars" last night, the one who got kicked out, psycho mike was the first one to get the boot. he was in the bottom three with sugar ray leonard and wendy williams.

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go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil. here are some stories to watch today on abc news. nasa releases more images of the planet mercury today. the first picture sent from a space probe in orbit shows terrain never seen before. the orca whale that killed a seaworld trainer last year in orlando appears in public today for the first time since the drowning. seaworld is fighting federal complaints about trainer safety. and prince harry is joining wounded war veterans for a charity hike to the north pole. he'll train for a few days before embarking on that trek. >> cold trek. >> very cold. almost as cold as it is in here. >> turned down the ac. according to the official "world news now" royal wedding clock the big day is now a month away. >> just a month. >> thank you, lord. >> yes, hang in there. buckingham palace is shifting into high gear, also including the kitchen which will be

whipping up a special breakfast. here's the bbc's nicholas wichell. >> reporter: the kitchens of buckingham palace, well used to preparing food for big occasions, from private meals for the queen to formal dinners for visiting heads of state. every year these kitchens serve up food for something like 50,000 guests. on the kitchen shelves are pots and pans which the royal chefs have used to cook for kings and queens for generations. most of the food they prepare in palace kitchens is straightforward, based on the best of british produce. but much of it is delicate work. preparing canapes for the type of reception taking place here on the day of the royal wedding. for the queen's chef and his team, the wedding reception is just one of the major events at the palace this year. >> whether it's for the visit of mr. obama, or the duke of edinburgh's 90th birthday, or the royal wedding, they're all once in a lifetime events.

>> reporter: 600 guests who have been invited to the wedding reception will gather in the palace's main state rooms, where day will mingle with the newly married couple, who will have come by carriage if westminster abbey. wedding cake will be on display in the long picture gallery alongside some of the palace's art treasures. for the palace officials responsible for organizing the day, it will be a culmination of months of planning. >> there's an awful lot of detail to go into, the planning of all events we do at the palace, which will involve the event planning itself, the invitations, working out the menus, working out all of the details of the drinks. >> reporter: one month to go now to the royal wedding and in the kitchens of buckingham palace, everything, it seems, is ready. nicholas wichell, bbc news. >> such precision. >> hope they have some pigs in a blanket.

that's my favorite. >> hors d'oeuvres there fo